Grant Webster: Tourism Holdings CEO on tourism numbers rising 6% in the year to October

Tourists continue to flock across the ditch to New Zealand. 

Stats NZ figures show more than 260 thousand overseas travellers visited in October, 22 thousand up on the year before. 

More than 120 thousand came from Australia – a record October high. 

Tourism Holdings CEO Grant Webster told Heather du Plessis-Allan that New Zealand is currently a cheap destination for Australian tourists when compared to places like the United States.  

He says there’s also been strong marketing from Tourism New Zealand, which has been paying off. 

LISTEN ABOVE  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
More good news on the tourism front.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Arrivals are up six percent in the year to October,
so we're getting very close to three and a half
million visitors, which means we are now at ninety six
and a half percent of pre COVID levels, So tantalizingly close.
Grant Webster is the CEO of Tourism Holdings Limited.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
Morning, Grant, good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Are you heartened by what you're seeing?

Speaker 3 (00:19):
Oh? Very much? So. Yeah. Great for the economy, right,
and good for all the tourism industry.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Loads of assies coming over What is I mean, that's
basically a record.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
What is it that they're loving over here?

Speaker 3 (00:29):
I think we are a cheap destination relative to America
and other locations at the moment, plus some very strong
marketing from tourism usual.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Oh so, do you think it's that weird ad? I
can't remember what the ad was, but you reckon that's
paying off.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
Is it? Yeah? Look, you spend in that market and
you get good airline capacity and watch what happens now.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
China still seems to be a little bit of a
problem and we're around about half pre COVID level. Is
this just the new normal that we need? To get
used to the Chinese and not going to come back
in those numbers.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
No, I don't think so. I think it's just a
matter of time. So it was a lot later start.
You know, we had a few things from a visa
perspective that we had changed in calendar twenty four. That's
been rectified by the government in twenty five. The latest
change with allowing Australia visas in certain situations to flow
through for Chinese makes a big difference. Table was a

(01:26):
bigger list actually, So I think I think we're on
the right track now for China and we'll get back there.
The numbers will get back there.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
How how some are looking for you guys are busy as.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yeah, really busy. So New Zealand will be somewhere around
twenty percent up in revenue over the summer period.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
Great, yeah, brilliant stuff. Now.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
I saw in the papers the other day you guys
are shutting down some manufacturing in Aussie and then you're
moving out over to Hamilton, which feels like the opposite
of what's happening in this country.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
So what's brought that up?

Speaker 3 (01:54):
I just mentioned before, Ozzies are coming here because we're
a cheaper destination where at the factors we're a cheaper
destination to manufacture, so our labor rates are cheaper, renters
cheaper dot dot dot so said reality for Australian manufacturing. Unfortunately,
the right thing for us to do.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
Grant Listen.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Thanks very much appreciated, Grant Webster, CEO of Tourism Holdings Limited.
It was the everyone must go campaign, That's what it.

Speaker 3 (02:19):
Was for more from the mic asking Breakfast Listen live
to news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.